Reporter Becomes Crime Victim

WMBD (Peoria) Reporter Shelbey Roberts has reported on her share of crimes stories.

But, recently Roberts became a crime victim.

The Journal-Star writes that Roberts called 911 after returning home to find a ransacked mess. Burgled, her apartment had been torn apart, with belongings and furniture upended and disarranged throughout.

"It looked like a volcano went off," she said. " ... It was terrifying."

Though initially rattled and angered, Roberts has since found an insightful upside to her first in-your-face experience with lawbreaking. She said she has learned a deeper compassion for crime victims, especially those she encounters as a reporter.

"I've always seen myself as a people person, as someone who is empathic," she said. "But knowing what I know now, the fear that people go through, that's at the forefront of my mind even more so."

After finding her dog Diesel scared, but OK, she called 911 then checked the rest of the apartment. Almost every room was in the same state of chaos. Items were thrown all over, as if an intruder had been searching for something amid the furniture, drawers and other spots.

Roberts quickly realized only one item seemed to be missing: a laptop kept in plain sight on a coffee table in the living room. Nothing else, aside from maybe some inexpensive jewelry, had been touched. She didn't understand why a burglar would spend so much time making such a mess, with any ruckus possibly calling attention to the break-in.

"It didn't look like a grab-and-go," she said. "It looked like somebody was angry."

Roberts has since moved out of the apartment.